How Seattle will become known for $18 hamburgers

Seattle could become the city of the $18 hamburger if minimum wage increases to $15 per hour.

On Monday, David Boze reported on a Seattle chef - a self-described liberal - who says that increasing the minimum wage would cause his labor costs to shoot from 30 percent of his expenses to more than 60 percent.

John Platt is the owner of St. Clouds, a restaurant in the Madrona neighborhood. He told Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat that his menu prices would rise accordingly with an increase in the minimum wage. Platt's $13 hamburger would go up to $17, the pan-roasted duck from $32 to $40.

"He's pointing this out to say, 'This will change how often people go out to eat, where they go out to eat,'" Boze said.

Burke Shethar, who owns the Madrona Ale House near St. Clouds, said that raising the minimum wage could cause Seattle to become a city known for $18 hamburgers.